by Ken Clapp

Salado’s representative in Congress - Republican John Carter (Round Rock) - took center stage last month in an on-going Washington political donnybrook, involving partisanship, money, and influence, waged between “gotcha game” players on one side holding majority party power-cards, versus a troubled (and dethroned) conservative minority totally focused on a “no-holds-barred” recapture of the leadership role.
It began October 22, when news releases from a number of D.C. watchdog groups - both partisan and independent - flooded the Texas media with stunning news that Representative Carter had failed to report capital gains on nearly $300,000 in personal profit from the sale of Exxon stock during 2006 and 2007.
Carter denied the allegation at first, but later admitted (through office staffers) that his House financial disclosure reports were “incomplete” and had (now) been corrected.
Congressman Carter also disclosed ownership of between “one and five” million dollars worth of shares of Exxon Mobile Stock - the second largest oil holding among the 435 members of the House.
Exactly how many stock shares members own is not required by Ethics Committee’s disclosure forms: just a notation that the total is (somewhere) within a variety of ranges - which in Carter’s case is the vast 1-5 million dollar category.
CARTER’S OFFICE QUERIED
John Stone, Communications Director for Judge Carter, (staff use the epithet “Judge” when referencing the Congressman) told this column that the financial disclosure forms are “vague” and many House members fail to list capital gains since there’s no place (on the form) to record that type of income.
The required information for 2006-7 has since been added, according to Stone, and a review of last year’s report (2008) was subsequently made and is reportedly correct.
Stone also told us that the accusation Carter had not reported the stock dividends and sales income plus capital gains (to IRS in 2006 and 2007) was false: copies of the Judge’s 2006-07 IRS Form 1040 returns were e-mailed by Stone, with the disputed income and capital gains listed.
WATCHDOG MEDIA
SLAMS CARTER
The “Lone Star Project” (LSP), an admittedly liberal observer of Potomac goings-on (particularly Congress), chronicled Carter (on October 22) as a “Profile in Hypocrisy,” noting the Round Rocker had led a vicious partisan floor attack against Democratic Ways-Means Chairman Charlie Rangel for failing to disclose “some” financial holdings.
Matt Angle, who heads up LSP, was contacted and during a series of phone conversations, told us that Carter had become the GOP’s “partisan attack dog.”
He re-emphasized the Rangel attack as “the most harsh, mean-spirited and vitriolic floor attack seen in recent years.”
Angle further noted, that as Carter’s failure to disclose some of his income was being exposed, he was also loudly proclaiming his personal “respect for the law” - all of which produced the “hypocrisy” tag awarded
(to “Judge” Carter) by Angle and Company in their opening media salvo.
“ROLL CALL” EDITORIAL
Since 1955, Roll Call is (reportedly) considered “the top” newspaper of Capitol Hill: Featuring Congressional news gleaned from inside the Beltway and presented “independently” to subscribers.
In an October 28 editorial, Roll Call noted that Rep. Carter is “point man” in the GOP effort to oust Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Roll Call also revealed that Carter had failed to report capital gains on his Exxon stock sale profits of $300,000.
CHAIRMAN RANGEL’S PROBLEM
As a “side bar” to the Carter entanglement, we asked Congressman Rangel’s office for a comment on Carter’s castigation of the New York Democrat throughout the past year, based on Rangel’s failure to report earnings to House Ethics and the IRS.
We received a polite “We have no comment to make on the matter” from Rangel’s top aide Emile Milne.
A second call to Milne produced a tad more forthcoming information: “The Congressman has paid all of his back federal taxes.” The staffer was uncertain however, when asked, if there were any penalties or interest (P&I) included in the nearly $11,000 Rangel paid to IRS.
Reason for our inquiry was that Rep. Carter had complained (House-speech October 28) that no penalties-interest were paid on Rangel’s back taxes - coupled with the inference that Rangel’s chairmanship of House Ways and Means (which supervises the IRS) had “something” to do with any (questionable) “P&I” omissions. * * * *
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
Bell Countians, and not just those who wear Democratic Party emblems, have been hoping that some day (hopefully soon) they’ll have a personal Congressman or woman.
Sadly, that day appears at least another decade away: the total population of the United States (according to the Census Bureau’s “Population Clock”) at exactly 2:16 p.m. last Thursday, October 29 stood at 307,811,108!
Which means Bell County citizens, who want their very own Congressional representative, will have to wait for the U.S. pop-clock to “tick a lotta tocks” to get us to the 706,000 people-level in order to qualify for a voice and seat at the “congressional table.”
SECOND CHOICE ON WISH LIST
What we better hope for is that when Texas is redistricted after next year’s decennial census - we won’t have another cozening slyboots like Tom DeLay manipulating our county.
He’s the guy that gave us John Carter in exchange for Chet Edwards - an horrifically bad deal.
All else failing - perhaps we can coax the powers-that-be to let us join-up with a neighboring county (or counties) - other than Williamson: Thereby guaranteeing a higher quality of representation in Washington.
That’s -30-

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